An early morning fire has heavily damaged the main building at the former Henryton Hospital Center in Marriottsville.

The blaze was initially reported as an investigation of smoke in the area at approximately 4:15 am. Responding crews discovered the fire at Henryton and immediately upgraded the incident to a box alarm.

Crews discovered heavy fire in the portion of the main building where the old theater was located. Two tanker task forces and the rapid intervention dispatch were requested, bringing crews from neighboring companies in Carroll, Baltimore and Howard counties. Approximately 75-80 firefighters were reported on the scene by the incident commander.

It took approximately three and a half hours to bring the fire under control. There were no injuries in the fire.

The hospital grounds have been the scene of many suspicious fires in recent years, including several in the theater section of the main building. There are no utilities to the building. The cause of this fire has not been determined.

Sykesville fire officials are urgently requesting state officials to address the dangerous situation at Henryton, preferably by razing the buildings to avoid future fires, or even worse, injuries or deaths.